Gay Jesus: Is The Religious Right Ready For A Gay Jesus? (Hint: No)

“We refuse to concede Jesus to those who act like they own the copyright on Christ, then use him as a weapon to dominate others,” writes Kittredge Cherry about her new book The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision.

The provocative book and accompanying artwork by Doug Blanchard tells the story of a modern day gay messiah, in which the “contemporary Christ figure stands up to priests, bankers, politicians, soldiers, and police…He is jeered by fundamentalists, tortured by Marine lookalikes, killed as news cameras broadcast his pain, and rises again to enjoy homoerotic union with God.”

And while we’re all for appropriating made-up stories with the purpose of lifting spirits, the book is predictably enraging many right-wing Christians. Because Jesus was obviously a straight white man who looked like Jim Caviezel.

It’s been blasted as an “abomination,” “disgusting” and “an outrage to mock Christ in this manner,” and Cherry says Facebook even initially pulled its ads for being too “shocking” — a move they reversed after outcry. Or as she aptly puts it, they “resurrected” the ads.

Here’s a sampling of some of the art, which to us on a scale of one-to-shocking ranks somewhere between an occupy protest and a Quentin Tarantino film.